Topics - OBsIV

XIM4 sales through this holiday season continues to exceed our forecasts and expectations. The product has grown to a level that none of us anticipated which is very exciting to see. But, the ugly result is what we are seeing happen on Amazon today.

To be clear, we, XIM Technologies, do not sell through Amazon. Those selling on Amazon are independent distributors that aren't under the same contracts as our official international distributors. As a result, we are currently seeing prices exceeding 160% of actual cost. I would expect it to continue to rise in the weeks to come.

This is not something we are going to sit back and watch happen to our community. So starting now we are cutting off supply to Amazon and reallocating those XIM4s to our store. The price, of course, will remain where it has always been regardless of demand. We will renegotiate contracts with these Amazon distributors after the new year.

We expect the store to re-open by end-of-week. Please add yourself to our Waiting List on the store if you are interested in buying a XIM4. We will notify it as soon as the store is opened.

UPDATE: We've learned from a community member that the presence of an app called Bixby Button Remapper is causing XIM4 Manager to crash. If you aren't running this app and XIM4 Manager is still crashing, please let us know here.We've been seeing reports of XIM4 Manager crashing on startup on the Samsung Galaxy S8. We need to address this as soon as possible so if you own this phone we ask for your help.

If you have an S8, please let us know if you are able to run the version of XIM4 Manager in the Google Play Store without issue.

For the record, I wanted to give you my full response to Kotaku so you can understand our stance on this and share with others:

Why did you create XIM?

XIM started 9 years ago as a goal of mine to be able to play Halo with a Wiimote (http://youtu.be/Rk4WLtuf-ME). I published my method which was then picked by up Engadget and people stated contacting me asking if I could make a mouse and keyboard work on consoles. I quickly discovered that making a mouse feel right on a console shooter is a really hard problem and what made it harder is that every game is different. Over the years I developed and perfected the proprietary technology behind XIM?s mouse translation system which makes a mouse feel natural on a console. It is this quality that XIM is known for and is what sets us apart from all the rest.

How do you respond to allegations that XIM gives an unfair advantage to its users and could make games like Overwatch less fair for everyone?

Mouse vs. Controller is a very heated and confrontational topic that you see all the time online (as we are seeing here now). When people talk about ?mouse? they are always thinking about it in the context of PC shooters, not console shooters ? which is a big difference. All shooters have an aiming system that governs how the reticle can move on-screen. On PC, this system is unrestricted ? you can aim at incredible speeds. This isn?t true for consoles ? where the game is designed for controllers. This restricted aim means that you cannot achieve aim beyond what a controller can do. XIM works in this framework (just like all console peripherals ? Elite and Scuf controllers, steering wheels, arcade sticks, etc.). XIM isn?t about an advantage, but, for the many people out there like myself who cannot game well using a thumbstick, it?s about not having a disadvantage. It?s about using a control method that simply suits you best. It turns their console gaming experience into something fun where people can game again with their friends.

How do you respond to Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan's strong statement against your type of hardware?

It?s unfortunate really, but understandable given all the false information you see out there. I mentioned before about PC ?unlimited? aim vs. console ?limited? aim ? this means that XIM doesn?t give you PC aim on consoles (it can?t). It doesn?t transform the user into a gaming god (as any XIM gamer can attest to). Also, there are also blatant cheating devices out there that provide the ability to rapid fire and exploit the game. XIM specifically doesn?t and will never support features like this ? it?s not in the spirit of the product. All this being said, people will always want to use XIM even if games like Overwatch were to add native mouse support to their game. Reason being is because controller players, in general, don?t want to be matchmade against PC mouse players online. That is certainly unfair and will cause fragmentation in their user base. This all comes down to perception. I hope that those that still have a negative perception will see XIM as just another console input device that you choose based on preference.

Do many disabled gamers use XIM?

Yes! It?s incredible to see XIM grow to where it is today ? it?s an incredible achievement. But, nothing humbles me more than when I get a mail from someone with disabilities thanking me for making it possible to play games with their friends. Or a parent thanking me for giving their child joy through that experience ? as a parent that?s a big deal to me. This is why I want XIM to be the best way for people with disabilities to enjoy console gaming and will continue to make that happen.